Greetings all, Renegade here with a LOOONG-overdue update. For today's entry, I decided to do something a bit different - a retrospective list of all the albums I could remember listening to in my childhood. I listened to a LOT of albums growing up (particularly hardcore punk, psychobilly, and heavy metal) so narrowing them down to my top 10 was a difficult task. But anyways, I'll be taking a look at the 10 that I most remember fondly - the rankings do not signify a particular order from best to worst of vice versa - I like them all equally.

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10. Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables

Genre(s): Hardcore punk

Release date: September 2, 1980

Songs of Note: Kill the Poor, Holiday in Cambodia, California Uber Alles, and Viva Las Vegas

Renegade's Thoughts on the Album: Ah, the Dead Kennedys. The...Beatles of hardcore punk, if you will. Probably the single most important band in the genre out there, I was first exposed to the band through my dad, who was (for better or for worse) probably the most hardcore punk person I knew in my early years. And just like the Beatles, the DKs played straightforward, surf-and-rockabilly influenced punk before diversifying their sound and then eventually coming full circle with their final album Bedtime for Democracy. Anyways, this album is about as basic as you can get with American punk rock: guitar, bass and drums, fast tempos, and frontman Jello Biafra's biting satire that pulls no punches and doesn't lean either to the extreme, neoliberal left or to the neoconservative religious right. They're just out to tell you how wrong you are, and how the world isn't a very nice place. And that is something we need more of in the divisive, everything is political and there is no middle ground climate of today.

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9. Primus - Pork Soda

Genres: Alternative metal, funk metal, experimental rock

Release date: April 20, 1993

Songs of Note: Mr. Krinkle, My Name is Mud

Renegade's Thoughts on the Album: While I didn't truly get into this album until I was in middle school (and post-my parents' divorce), I still consider it an album from my childhood thanks to my then-18 year old cousin Justin showing me the music video for Mr. Krinkle in the olden days of pre-2010s YouTube. Thanks to him introducing me to Primus (and listening to System of a Down around that time; I'll get to Toxicity in a bit), my love of more experimental bands was seeded. Les Claypool's bass is heavy on this album, and given the darker subject matter ( "Bob" hits home pretty hard nowadays due to my dad killing himself via hanging in April earlier this year), why shouldn't it be? There's still the normal Primus wackiness from earlier albums still on here, but it's not as prominent. Pork Soda is considered Primus' masterwork by many, and it isn't hard to see why.

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8. Bad Religion - The Process of Belief

Release date: January 22, 2002

Genres: Punk rock, melodic hardcore

Songs of Note: Sorrow, Supersonic, and Kyoto Now

Renegade's Thoughts on the Album: This album, or rather, Sorrow, was probably my first exposure to Bad Religion at 4 years old. It became one of my favorite songs (next to Barroom Hero and The Dirty Glass by Dropkick Murphys) to sing at that age. And listening to the album in full all these years later, it still holds up as my second favorite BR album-my favorite being New Maps of Hell. Full of energy, melody, and most of all, intelligent political discussion, If you want to get into this band, start here.

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7. Flogging Molly - Drunken Lullabies

Release date: March 19, 2002

Genres: Celtic punk

Songs of Note: Drunken Lullabies, If I Ever Leave This World Alive, What's Left of the Flag

Renegade's Thoughts on the Album: Probably my second favorite Celtic punk band, Flogging Molly is near and dear to my heart, striking a balance between tender, tearjerking ballads and in-your-face, Irish-loud-and-Irish-proud punk...and oftentimes both. This one brings on the waterworks easily, but it's worth a listen or two.

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6. System of a Down - Toxicity

Release date: September 4, 2001

Genres: Alternative metal, nu metal

Songs of Note: Chop Suey, Toxicity, Aerials

Renegade's Thoughts on the Album: Ah, System of a Down. What would I be without  Chop Suey ingraining itself into my young brain and becoming a favorite song of mine? What should I say about this album? It's political, funny, heavy, poppy, and diversive all at once. SOAD have been called successors to Frank Zappa and for good reason. They can take any music and mix and match genres and lyrics with it, creating something unique get accessible and familiar. This album is still a riot all the way through, but the singles are standouts.

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5. Reverend Horton Heat - Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em 

Release date: November 1, 1990

Genres: Psychobilly

Songs of Note: Bad Reputation, Marijuana, Psychobilly Freakout

Renegade's Thoughts on the Album: This is the album (along with Tiger Army's Power of Moonlite) that introduced me to the genre I eventually decided to pursue musically - psychobilly. And nobody does it better than Jim MF'ing Heath and his bassist Jimbo Wallace. This record is everything you could ever want in a psychobilly album: good old rock and roll riffs and basslicks recorded live in the studio, lyrics about sex, cars, and drugs, and is overall just a fun time. Easily the best thing the Rev ever recorded, and highly recommended.

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4. Ramones - Loud, Fast, Ramones: Their Toughest Hits

Release date: October 15, 2002

Genres: Punk rock

Songs of Note: Blitzkrieg Bop, Beat on the Brat, Sheena is a Punk Rocker, I Wanna be Sedated

Renegade's Thoughts on the Album: While I don't remember the exact compilation I listened to as a kid, this one was most likely it based on the songs I can remember. And that title doesn't lie - the Ramones were loud, fast, and tough. They were pop song writers above all else, though, and these tunes will get stuck in your head, no ifs and or buts about it. Definitely a must-have for any punker like myself.

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3. Devil Doll - Queen of Pain

Release date: October 14, 2003

Genres: Rockabilly

Songs of Note: Bourbon in Your Eyes, Liquor Store, You are the Best Thing and the Worst Thing, Queen of Pain

Renegade's Thoughts on the Album: I blame my mom for me loving this album in a good way. It's sexy, fun, and Colleen Duffy is just...mmm.~ I had such a crush on her as a kid, but I'm getting off track here. This record, much like Smoke 'Em If You Got 'Em, is pure 50s rock and roll distilled into its base components. And going back to this album now fills me with a lot of nostalgia (and imagining Colleen Duffy singing to me in a smoky bar somewhere out of a film noir).

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2. Tiger Army - Power of Moonlite

Release date: July 24, 2001

Genres: Psychobilly, horror punk

Songs of Note: Annabel Lee, In the Orchard, Under Saturn's Shadow, F.T.W.

Renegade's Thoughts on the Album: If the Reverend Horton Heat can be considered everything fun about psychobilly, then Tiger Army can be considered the brooding, introspective, and emotional side. While they certainly have the punked-up 50s rock and roll and B-movie vibes of psychobilly, Tiger Army isn't concerned with talking about fictional monsters, cars, and girls. Their monsters are more "real" - depression, heartbreak, and thinking about good times that can never be captured again. Nick 13, lead singer of the band, draws on his darker experiences and country influences to paint vibrant pictures that can bring tears to one's eye.t

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1. Nirvana - Nevermind

...this was the only censored version I could find. Sue me.

Genres: Alternative rock, grunge

Songs of Note: ...All of them.

Renegade's Thoughts on the Album: What can I say that hasn't been said before? Nevermind is a perfect album all the way through - perfect 60s pop melodies put through the fuzz of Kurt Cobain's guitar and Dave Grohl's pounding drums, lyrics about Kurt's volatile relationship with Tobi Vail, feminism, and masculinity, and a commitment to rocking the fuck out. This is my most treasured childhood album, and I wouldn't have it any other way.